Mother and son face jail time for incestuous relationship

A New Mexico mother and son who are 'madly in love' are going to extraordinary lengths to be together.

Monica Mares, 36, and her son Caleb Peterson, 19, are currently fighting for their right to be in relationship, even asking the public to donate to their cause.

'He is the love of my life and I don't want to lose him. My kids love him, my whole family does. Nothing can come between us not courts, or jail, nothing,’ Mares told the Daily Mail.

'I have to be with him. When I get out of prison I will move out of Clovis to a state that allows us to be together.'

The pair will appear before a judge on incest charges later this year, if found guilty they face up to 18 months in prison. Despite the repercussions, they told the Daily Mail they are willing to risk everything.

Mares gave birth to Peterson when she 16 and put him up for adoption. The pair found each other on Facebook last Christmas and decided to meet.

'The first time I met my son in person I was so happy and excited I gave him a big hug,' Mares said. 'I went to go pick him up at his dad's house in Texas.'

Soon after Peterson moved in with Mares as mother and son, but that soon changed.

'It felt like I met somebody new in my life and I fell in love with him,' she explained.

She added: 'At first I told him, "I'm sorry I don't know how you are going to react to this. I'm your mom and you're my son, but I'm falling in love with you".

Peterson’s feelings were mutual and the pair began to date.

Mares said, 'The first time we were physical ended up holding hands and then we ended up kissing and the kissing led to other things.

'I felt comfortable with him and we fell even more deeply in love.'

As a result of their relationship Mares, a mother of nine, isn’t allowed contact with any of her children or Peterson, but she says it’s worth it.

'It is every bit worth it,' she said. 'If they lock me up for love then they lock me up. There is no way anybody could pull us apart, and I really do love him.